Time and Tide
by mamazano
Summary: Haunted by unknown demons, Jack Sparrow is teetering on the brink of madness… A/N: This is a prequel to my current WIP, Through a Glass Darkly, a historical tale set during the Golden Age of Piracy.
1. Turning of the Tide

**Time and Tide**

Chapter 1

**Turning of the Tide**

"_The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide."_

_Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_

----

The news of the ghost ship reached the outlying islands and spread by word of mouth throughout the many ports and villages dotting the Caribbean. The taverns were abuzz with the tale of a derelict ship found with sails set drifting aimlessly off the coast of Curaçao. When boarded the ship was found to be in generally good condition, though the entire deck was covered with what seemed to be dried blood. The only lifeboat appeared to have been intentionally launched rather than torn away, suggesting the ship had been deliberately abandoned. The cargo was intact, and a six-month supply of food and water was aboard. All of the ship's papers, including the captain's logbook, were missing.

There was only one living soul found on board, a wild eyed man with beads and trinkets in his hair and beard. Grievously injured and driven mad by the sun he kept repeating the same thing over and over when questioned. "All dead. All dead."

----

"I'm tellin' you it's him."

"And I'm tellin' you it a fool's errand."

The quartermaster and first mate of the _Black Pearl_ was squaring off with one another. AnaMaria, hands on hips was not giving in that easily.

"Who else could it be? I'm not giving up on him. We could be there in two…three days time."

Gibbs folded his arms and retorted, "Oh yes, and be sailin' straight through Spanish waters to a Dutch settlement to hunt down a ghost. I'm tellin' you it's a fool's errand."

"I thought you were his friend." The accusation was spoken quietly, but with contempt.

Gibbs rolled his eyes and sighed. "Jack gave orders for me to keep the _Pearl_ safe at anchor until he sent word. That's what I'm planning on doing."

He glanced out at the _Pearl_ where she sat in the small bay. Was it his imagination or was the ship sagging slightly, as if missing her captain? AnaMaria jammed her hat on her head and said sharply, "He wouldn't be able to send word now would he if the stories are true?" She squared her shoulders. "I'll go without you. I have to know."

Gibbs looked at the angry woman and sighed again. "You're as daft as Jack. We'll go then. The _Pearl_, she's been pining away these months as well." He glanced back out at the weathered black ship to avoid the first mate's angry glare. "I'll just inform the crew. Any of thems that wants to can stay behind."

Gibbs headed back up the path towards town with a heavy heart. He too had heard the stories and AnaMaria was more than likely right. But he found it made his mind to rest a might bit easier to stay in port and hope the tales_ weren't_ true. For word was the survivor of that doomed ship had gone stark raving mad.

----

"Has he said anything else?"

The doctor peered through the small grate into the room beyond. It appeared empty. The attendant on duty shook his head. "Nothing. Just keeps repeating the same thing, "_All Dead_." Can't get 'im to eat none either."

The doctor wrote down some notes in his black book and shook his head. "Whatever the poor man went through must have been horrific. He seems to have retreated into his mind. Not uncommon in trauma cases such as these."

The doctor glanced back into the room. He could barely make out the figure sitting in the corner on the floor, arms wrapped around his knees as he rocked rhythmically, as if on board a ship, humming to himself. "It may take something equally traumatic to bring him out of the state he's in."

He turned to go, glancing in one more time at his patient. The man's hair was matted and wild, his torso crisscrossed with a variety of scars. His eyes stared blankly in front of him as he crooned softly to himself. "I'll be back tomorrow. Let me know if there is any change."

The attendant unlocked the outer door and walked with the doctor to his waiting carriage. It was a relief to be outside and away from the hopeless despair that dwelt inside the stone building. Breathing in the fresh salty air blowing in from the sea the man watched the doctor's carriage roll down the driveway, deep in thought as he gazed out over the sea.

----

Curaçao was one of the greatest free ports in the Caribbean, boasting a deep water natural harbor. Curaçao was also the center for smuggling activity and home to the largest black market in the New World. Anything could be bought or sold there, from prisoners to parrots. Controlled by the Dutch West India Company, the Governor there was authorized to issue Letters of Marque for ships of Spanish flag. Pirates and privateers both were equally welcome. Over a third of the buildings in the port town were taverns and the drinking and carousing was equal to that of Tortuga. A good place to unload swag, and the _Pearl _had a hold full of it. Any goods could be sold in Curaçao, for a good price, no matter what the supply. It was reported anything could be bought there as well, if the price was met.

The journey took them four days, during which they managed to take a small merchant vessel and add to their stores. Not knowing the situation that awaited them, AnaMaria and Gibbs had decided that the more they had to barter with the better. With Jack Sparrow gone, AnaMaria had stepped up in position of Captain and was now standing at the helm, her black hair loose and blowing behind her in the wind. Her eyes were set on the horizon, her jaw set with determination. She would not desert him, not Jack. Whatever fate had befallen him when he'd left that last time, he deserved to be around friends…not locked up in some crazy house. He may be a scoundrel through and through, but he was also a good friend…and a good man. She owed him this at least.

----

Jack Sparrow had receded to a place familiar to him…a place he would go when the pain around him became too great. He'd gone there before…hidden there. A place of stillness, a safe shelter in the storm.

_The Pearl, his love…his freedom. He is at the helm, salty spray on his face, guiding her through the tranquil blue waters of the Caribbean seas. Her sails billowing and flapping in the breeze give him wings to soar. The wind is free and he is free to sail wherever it blows. He is free…free to sail beyond the edges of the map…free from death itself. _

He rocks and hums a tune learned long ago. He is free.

----


	2. Return to the Sea

**Time and Tide**

Chapter 2

**Return to the Sea**

"_I must down to the sea again, for the call of the running tide_

_Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied."_

_John Masefield_

----

"How long?"

The trio stood looking in at the poor soul on the other side of the door, lost in his own world. The doctor consulted his notes.

"He arrived almost six weeks ago. His physical wounds have healed…but, as you can see, his mental state has not recovered."

AnaMaria frowned. After the first initial shock of seeing Jack in such a state she had returned to being pragmatic. "Is he violent? May I speak to him?"

The doctor studied the woman standing there…she wore a colorful skirt and her hair back in a scarf, her eyes were bright, her manner gentle yet determined. "Are you a relative of his?" he asked with curiosity. She nodded and said softly, "He is my husband."

The doctor nodded. "We wondered if he had family in the area. There are many questions that perhaps you can answer?" She shrugged impatiently. "Later, perhaps. I would like to see him first. May I?" The doctor nodded and said, "Of course. Perhaps you might be able to help."

The attendant unlocked the door and AnaMaria hesitantly entered the room. The door was closed and locked behind her. "Just a precaution," the attendant told her. She nodded, wanting a moment of privacy with Jack.

He didn't acknowledge her presence…just continued to rock and hum, a small smile on his face. She approached cautiously, and squatted down next to him on the floor. His hair was wild and snarled, his body caked in filth, his eyes blank and staring. It took all her willpower not to retch at the stench that permeated from him. Tears sprang to her eyes, and then anger replaced her grief. Jack Sparrow was not an animal to be caged and observed. He deserved to be free.

"Jack?" she said softly, reaching out and touching his hand. "Jack, it's Ana."

He didn't appear to hear her, just rocked and hummed, the same small smile hovered on his lips. She fought back her anguish, her rage.

"Jack, we've come to take you home. Gibbs is here, we brought the _Pearl_."

A flicker of something in his eye gave her hope.

"She's waiting for you, Jack. The _Black Pearl_. She's missing you. We've come to take you to her."

He paused in his rocking, his head tilted slightly.

"The sea, Jack. The wind in your face, your freedom." She whispered the words, the only words she could think of that might reach him in his place of safety. "The _Pearl _misses you, Jack. She needs you." He paused, and smiled…then resumed his rocking.

She held his hand and whispered, "She misses you, Jack…we all do."

----

It turned out it didn't take much finagling for AnaMaria and Gibbs to procure Jack Sparrow's release from the hospital where he was incarcerated. The local authorities were hard pressed as to what to do with the man…obviously mad, he was only a liability to their eyes. So when the "wife" had showed up to claim him, they did little more than have her sign a waver absolving them from any liability for his future actions and a chit for his personal effects. Jack had gone with them docilely enough…like a small child he allowed himself to be led by the hand to the boat that would take him out to his ship.

The first sign that Jack might be aware of his surroundings came when then were making to push off from the dock. The breeze from off shore carried with it the salty scent of the sea, and for a moment Jack froze…head held high he sniffed, as a fox hound might when catching the scent of his prey. A stillness came over him as he tested the air with his nose…and then his tongue. A small shudder went through his body and he sat erect as they rowed out to the _Pearl_.

Once on board the ship he paused, as if listening, head cocked to one side. AnaMaria, encouraged by this change in his behavior, nodded slightly to Gibbs who helped her guide Jack to the helm where he might once again hold the _Pearl_ in his hands.

The quartermaster and first mate held their breath as their captain grasped the wheel. The ship shuddered and groaned, her sails billowed suddenly and she strained at her mooring. Jack's hands were light and caressing on the wheel, he began to rock once more and hum, stroking the wood as he did. The Pearl surged from an unseen wind, her canvas full and fluttering along with her captain's hands. A dance of sorts played out there at the helm as the two of them reunited with one another.

----


	3. Out of the Depths

**Time and Tide**

Chapter 3

**Out of the Depths**

_There is a sorrow_

_beyond all grief, which leads to joy_

_and a fragility_

_out of whose depths emerges strength._

_Author Unknown_

----

_Jack Sparrow was dreaming. He was once again a young man, full of daring and verve. His ship, the Black Pearl was skimming over tranquil seas, the white foam beneath her bow the playground of dolphins as they headed westward towards an unseen destination. The island loomed suddenly in front of him…foreboding, mysterious, swathed in an impenetrable grey fog. _

_Unable to turn back Jack found himself in a longboat heading inland along a narrow vine choked river, the jungle thick and black all around him, watching him with unseen eyes peering out from the dense foliage lining the banks. A rotten stench seeped out from the shoreline, that of decaying flesh and the rank sweat smell of despair. _

_Suddenly the boat disappeared…Jack was waist deep in the murky water, hacking his way with machete through the clinging vines that grasped at him, entangling themselves in his braids, turning into the fleshless fingers of a dozen rotting corpses, their empty eyes staring, their mouths gaping open in silent screams._

----

Jack woke to his own screams, fighting off a tangle of bedcovers as he sat upright in alarm. He was in his bunk on the _Pearl_. The nightmares had plagued Jack since they'd rescued him…becoming less frequent but no less intense. AnaMaria, startled awake by his cries took him in her arms and soothed him, holding him close until he calmed and drifted back asleep.

Since rescuing Jack, AnaMaria had been sharing his cabin with him once again…though the relationship remained platonic. Lost in his own world Jack had barely noticed her, accepting her presence as he did everything around him with docile apathy. The doctor had mentioned that these cases could go on for years, sometimes forever. AnaMaria was not going to give up on her friend though…it was breaking her heart to see him in this condition and she would do whatever necessary to help him.

----

It had now been three weeks since they had rescued Jack from the squalor of the insane asylum. There had been marked improvements in him…the rocking had ceased as well as the incessant humming. His eyes no longer stared blankly…but what had replaced that was equally disturbing. A haunting emptiness and profound sadness filled his dark eyes, reflecting pools into the depths of his soul. Even more disconcerting was his lack of speech. The usually loquacious and eloquent Captain Jack Sparrow hadn't said two words since rejoining the _Pearl_.

The presence of the silent, staring Captain was spooking the crew. It was decided to put in at Tortuga, allowing those crewmembers that wanted to, to take their share of the plunder and find another ship. A pretty penny had been made in Curaçao from the hold full of swag, enough to tide over that crew who wanted to stay on for the duration of the time in port. As it turned out, only a handful would remain…Gibbs, Marty, Cotton, Pintel and Ragetti. AnaMaria would make her decision once she saw how things progressed with Jack. She had been quite content with her small plantation in the hills and the continuity it brought to her life. But first she would do all she could for her friend. There would be time later to decide.

----


	4. Pain of Wakening

**Time and Tide**

Chapter 4

**Pain of Wakening**

_Now conscience wakes despair That slumber'd, wakes the bitter memory Of what he was, what is, and what must be Worse; of worse deeds worse sufferings must ensue! _

_John Milton_

_"What wound did ever heal but by degrees?"_

_William Shakespeare_

-----

Six weeks later…

The tavern was full that night, the lusty crowd in rare form as they celebrated with gusto. The rum was flowing freely and the buxom whores plied their trade among the men, offering a moment of sweet delight for a bit of shine.

Jack Sparrow sat at a table in the corner, his back protectively against the wall. He was working on his second bottle of rum and had one pretty lass in his lap, and another with her arms wrapped around his neck. He seemed quite content being draped in becoming females, their tantalizing treats dangling provocatively in front of him.

His companion at the table was watching his Captain with wary eyes, but not offering any advice. For one thing Joshamee Gibbs had learned from his long time acquaintance with Jack Sparrow was that his Captain was able to handle both his liquor and his women. Yet…this was not their usual night out on the town. For starters, the Captain was drinking more than he was talking, and serious to boot.

The girls didn't notice, or care…one was whispering in his ear while the other played seductively with his dangles. Two thirds into the second bottle Jack suddenly rose and announced he was going back to the _Pearl_ to sleep. His two companions, eager to see the famous pirate ship up close were disappointed when he did not include them in the invitation. Frustrated, the two women flounced off to look for a more willing… and paying customer.

Gibbs shook his head and wondered how long it would take for Jack to put the past behind him. Jack had never been one to dwell on the unpleasantness of life, which made this odd indeed. The Captain was coherent and functioning once again, but the old spark seemed to have gone out of him. He had always drank in the past…for enjoyment, out of boredom, habit. Lately the drinking had become more deliberate, as Jack tried to banish the demons from his head. Sighing, Gibbs stood up unsteadily and made his way towards the door. The Captain might be wanting to be alone but Gibbs was going to keep an eye on him nonetheless.

----

They set sail the following week, with a skeletal crew at Jack's assistance. AnaMaria, who had opted to stay behind, stood on the dock and watched as the _Black Pearl_ weighed anchor and made her way out of the harbor and into open water. She had done all she could for her friend. Whatever demon Jack Sparrow was chasing, he chose to face it alone. She turned away with a heavy heart, unsure she'd ever see Jack Sparrow again.


End file.
